The Visitor
by lady of wight
Summary: An old acquaintance pays Loki an unexpected visit during his imprisonment in Asgard, a peculiar encounter that sparks his interest.


Loki's prison was on top of one of the high towers of Asgard. From his one window, he can see the entire kingdom with all its glory, as if mocking him from the darkness of his cell. As always, he spent his restless night in the company of a book, which his quarters are littered with a number of. He does not dread the coming of the morrow, he feels rather impatient for it to be done with. Yet nightmares of the evil that laid its hand on him kept him from slumber. He wonders at times, why they have not yet come for him. Perhaps now that the Tessaract is in Asgard, its defenses are less penetrable.

He felt her presence before he could hear her. Loki turned his eye towards the darkness of the hall that extended beyond his cell and finds the cloaked figure. Slim and fair-skinned hands drew the hood away and he met the elfish face of an old acquaintance. "I wouldn't have expected of you to grace me with your presence, prophet." he greeted her.

"I am not a prophet," she answered, her wide gray eyes illuminated the candelabra that stood at the corner of Loki's prison. "I am a reader of energy that reflects one's soul and mind. And with that, I interpret one's true intentions and possible future actions."

"You still use that argument." Loki commented. He closed his book shut, the bracelets that sealed his magic tinkled against his wrists, and walked towards the girl. Through the gaps between the silver bars that separated him from the world, he could see that none has changed in her appearance since the day he first laid eyes on her. He was merely a boy back then, who was taken to Hel to learn the judgment for the dead. Neris, who was born in Alfheim, was unlike other Light Elves. Like them, she had fair and luminescent skin and captivating ageless beauty. Yet her hair was raven black with streaks of auburn and her eyes were a glassy shade of gray. She was born with a rare ability that proved useful in the trial of souls in Hel, where she mostly resides in. "Why have you come here?" he asked her.

"I want to read you." she answered bluntly. Loki was taken aback. He was not easily intimidated, yet he found her ability quite uncomfortable, leaving him defensive. "Don't tell me you find interest in me, Neris." he challenged her only for his teasing to back-fire.

"I do. I have always found the energy around you peculiar." she tells him. "They say you are corrupt, I can not argue with that. But I've seen the corrupted and you are different from them. You have a dark energy in you yet it has many layers, unlike most, that I want to learn of it. You may say I take fancy in that."

The Light Elf's words were so direct and honest that Loki couldn't help but chuckle, which made Neris look at him more curiously. "You find it odd, what I said. Is it because I am honest about my interest in you? I, for one, find it odd that others are usually ashamed of their affections. It almost translates as they are ashamed of the one they admire. And that seems rather pointless, don't you think? Why would you admire someone who you are ashamed of?"

By the end of her explanation, Loki had burst out laughing. He could not remember the last time he had laughed like this, like a boy who had been told of a joke. Neris smiled as she watched the mischievous lad collect himself, "There's new light in your energy. I'm glad." she says.

Loki stared down at her sternly, trying to read any malice or hidden agenda behind the beautiful facade, and he sees none in her. Out of curiosity, he asks, "Have you predicted my actions before? Have you thought I was capable of these crimes before I commit them?"

"Yes. I saw them as a possibility." she answered.

"And you warned no one of them?" he asked, and Neris immediately responded. "No. I do not think it wise to warn everyone of every evil that could possibly happen. That would only throw the Nine Realms into disorder. That is why I only speak of my readings when I am asked to."

"And they did ask you, did they not?" Loki questioned, his voice sharp and silent like a dagger. Even then, Neris remained her calm self and answered truthfully, "Yes. They came to me earlier this day, to ask for my advice regarding your verdict, which will be brought down at dawn. Of course, I am not allowed to repeat to you what I told them. Nor can I tell you what verdict awaits you for I am not informed of it as of yet."

"But you have your deductions." Loki added. "Yes, four possibilities." Neris confirmed. "But that is only when they left my quarters. The possibilities may change over time. That is why they are only possibilities."

Loki smiled, finding their conversation amusing, "I had not thought you were such a wise one."

"Of course not, for you look down on others as you look down on yourself." Neris observes innocently, yet she quickly catches on Loki's change of mood and apologizes. "My apologies. I was only observing."

This is why Loki dislikes her at times. She sees through him too easily and he does not like anyone to know his true thoughts. But in the genuineness of her concern for him, he let this one pass. "Thank you for your visit. You should go before someone finds you and will lead to your punishment."

What Neris did next surprised him. She reached to him, her long and slender fingers slipping between the barred walls, and caressed his face. Her touch was light and warm as breath, and as quickly, she withdrew her hand. "I will see you again, my prince." she bids him and disappears in the dark as silently as she had come.

In the dim light of his prison, a small smile curved Loki's lips.

"I look forward to it."

* * *

**A/N:** Forgive me if there are some inconsistencies with the details here. This is just something that went to my head this morning and I ended up obsessing over it all day therefore I wrote it. Leave reviews please!


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